Mark Soboslai earned Bachelors Degree in Psychology with honors in 1974; employed as a Family Relations Counselor with the Connecticut Superior Court, Family Division from 1978 to 1985; earned Law Degree summa cum laude in 1985. Law Clerk with Judge David M. Borden, Connecticut Appellate Court (1985-86).
The Family Relations work involved conducting Court-Ordered Evaluations into areas of child custody, visitation and other parenting-related issues in fully contested cases. This position also involved extensive written reports and testimony on direct and cross-examination in cases that were litigated in the Superior Court. In the early 1980’s the State of Connecticut Judicial Department launched the Court-connected Mediation program involving training and experience with Mediation of contested custody and visitation matters. (See below for: ADR, Mediation & Collaborative Law Experience)
Appellate Law Clerkship involves extensive exposure to all aspects of the Appellate process. Each Law Clerk is chosen to work for a particular Judge of the Appellate Court for one “court year.” That experience and working relationship has a lasting influence upon the knowledge, insight and experience of every Law Clerk who moves on to the private practice of law within the State of Connecticut.
My private law practice since 1986 has emphasized divorce and family law. The training and exposure to the “traditional law practice” included affiliations with several of Connecticut’s top matrimonial and litigation experts. This included representation of clients in nearly all of Connecticut’s Family Courts.
ADR, Mediation & Collaborative Law Experience:
From 1988 to the present: Adjunct Professor of Law, Quinnipiac University School of Law teaching Alternative Dispute Resolution
Specialized Training:
Trained as a Facilitator with the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI.) Trained with Professor Robert Baruch Bush: Transformative Mediation.
Community Mediation/Non-Profit Experience:
President and Chairman, Board of Directors, The Dispute Settlement Center of Fairfield County (DSC). This is a non-profit Community Mediation center providing education, training and dispute resolution services to individuals in Fairfield County. Issues include: Juvenile Justice, Neighborhood Disputes; Criminal Disputes, etc.
Memberships and Professional Affiliations:
ABA [Family Law; ADR; Collaborative Law Committees]
CBA [committees].
ACR (Association For Conflict Resolution)
IACP (International Association of Collaborative Professionals)
CCLG/CCDM (Connecticut Collaborative Law Group/Connecticut Council for Divorce Mediation)
Authorship of Articles on Family Law and Litigation:
“Modification of Alimony: A Three Step Approach,” Family Advocate, April, 2003 Drafting/Co-Authorship of Connecticut’s Parenting Education Statute which has become mandatory for every Connecticut case involving children or parenting issues.
